Unusual intra-tracheal migration of a corrosive esophageal foreign body.

Abstract

Introduction: intra-tracheal migration of esophageal foreign body is very uncommon and dangerous. It is most often caused by a vulnerable foreign body accidentally swallowed. We report the first observation of intra-tracheal migration of corrosive battery in our practice, with review of the literature. Observation: It was a three-years-old girl received in ENT with dyspnea occurred on a chronic dysphagia. The chest x-ray revealed an endotracheal opacity. This proved to be a button battery that migrated into the trachea through an eso-tracheal perforation. Due to this situation, an emergency medico-surgical care was stored, with a favorable evolution at the cost of a laborious management of the residual fistula. Conclusion: Classically innocuous, esophageal foreign body can be unnoticed and became extra-esophageal through esophageal migration in general and tracheal in particular, thus transforming a chronic digestive problem into an expressive respiratory emergency.